MTN Foundation, Oracle Partner to Boost ICT Skills in Nigeria

MTN Foundation, the corporate social investment vehicle of leading ICT company in Nigeria, MTN, has entered into a new partnership with Oracle, to give further ICT training to select MTNF scholars.

The new partnership will see the launch of two projects: a bursary funded by Oracle for one student to attend the CERN openlab Summer School in Switzerland, and plans to train up to 2,000 MTNF scholars in database design and SQL and Java programming skills.

Corporate service executive, MTN Nigeria, Akinwale Goodluck, said: “At MTN, we believe that education is pivotal to the growth of any nation, which is why we are delighted with this collaboration that will see Mufutau Akuruyejo, an MTN Foundation scholar, leave for Switzerland to participate in the nine-week CERN openlab programme. Akuruyejo will be the first Nigerian to participate in this intensive programme, which would not have been possible without Oracle’s support.”

CERN openlab is a unique public-private partnership between CERN and leading ICT companies, with a mission to accelerate the development of cutting-edge solutions to be used by the worldwide LHC (large hadron collider) community.

According to Alberto Di Meglio, head of CERN openlab, “Our highly competitive student programme is a cornerstone of CERN openlab, with the students bringing new ideas and invigorating our collaboration,” said . “This year, we received over 1,500 applications from all over the globe and have selected students of the highest possible caliber. We’re very excited to be welcoming them to CERN very soon.”

The MTNF Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme has provided hundreds of brilliant but indigent students the opportunity to acquire qualitative tertiary education.

The programme is expected to encourage Nigerian students to take interest in science and technology-related courses for the ultimate benefit of the country.

Students will be taught by two Oracle Academy trained faculty from the Ajayi Crowther University and Aived International who have attended and passed the formal Oracle Academy faculty training courses.

Adebayo Sanni, country managing director, Oracle Nigeria said, “With the rapid adoption of technology in Nigeria, it is imperative that students are equipped with the right skills to take advantage of career and entrepreneurial opportunities.”

The MTNF Scholarship Scheme covers tuition, books and pocket allowance, which is renewable if recipients maintain a minimum of 3.5 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) in their course of study and an overall 2.5 CGPA.

In 2012, the scholarship was extended to visually impaired students in public tertiary schools across the country who meets the requirements.